The Rotten Apple
by Morganperidot
Summary: Short Todd and Blair story.


**The Rotten Apple**

Blair woke suddenly. She glanced over at the clock: 2:17 am. Then she looked at where Todd should have been sleeping and saw that he was gone – and something told her that wasn't a recent development. She slid out of bed and pulled on a robe before going down the penthouse stairs. The main room was dark. "Todd?" she said quietly; she didn't want to wake up Starr and Jack. Over at the sofa she saw a hand go up in the air, and she walked over there. She found Todd sprawled on the sofa with a glass of alcohol in his hand; the half-empty bottle was on the table in front of him. "What are you doing sitting in the dark drinking?" Blair asked.

"I was thirsty," Todd said.

"You're drunk," Blair said. "Jesus, Todd, what are you thinking? What if Starr came down here and found you like this?"

"She's sleeping," he said.

"And what if she got up for a glass of water or something?" Blair asked. She walked over to him and pulled his glass out of his hand. "What's the matter with you?" she asked.

"I think you know the answers to that," Todd said.

"I don't want you doing this around our kids," Blair said.

"And I don't want a lecture," Todd said. He reached for the bottle, but Blair picked that up too. Todd leaned back against the sofa. Blair looked at him and wondered what was going on with him. A few hours earlier they had made love with all of the fierce passion both of them could muster. She could still taste his moist skin and feel his body pressed to hers. What had happened since then? "I'm a big boy, Blair," he said. "I can take care of myself and..."

"It sure doesn't seem that way right now, Todd," Blair said. She set the bottle and glass on another table and walked back over to the sofa, where she sat down near him. "What is this?" she asked.

"This?" Todd said with a hint of dark humor void of joy. "This is Todd Manning, Victor Lord's bastard son, the rotten apple from the rotted tree."

"Keep your voice down," Blair said.

"Maybe it's better those kids know who and what their father is," Todd said.

"Don't be stupid, Todd," Blair said. "Whatever half-assed craziness you've drowned yourself in, you are not telling it to our kids. If I ever hear you say anything like that to them you won't live to say anything else."

"You think Starr doesn't already suspect..."

"That girl worships you," Blair said. "I'm serious, Todd. Don't even think about it."

Todd shrugged. "OK," he said. He paused for a moment, then said: "Let's go make another baby." He looked over at the stairs, then back at Blair. "I bet I could do it in one try," he said. "Let's find out."

"Maybe you already did," Blair said.

After a moment she saw the fog in Todd's eyes clear. "When?" he asked. "Tonight?"

"I've been thinking about what you said before about having another child," Blair said.

He sat up. "We could have conceived tonight?" he said.

"Does it matter to you?" she asked.

Blair could see his thoughts racing despite the blur of the alcohol. Todd Manning's brilliant mind was engaged, and she almost smiled. She loved to see it at work. "You know it does," he said.

"You want to bring another Manning into this world to live with his or her daddy's dark legacy?" Blair asked.

"Don't taunt me with this, Blair," Todd said, "not this."

"You're the one down here toasting your demons," Blair said, "instead of in bed with me where you belong." She crawled into his lap. "I don't like waking up without my man beside me," she said.

"Did you stop the Pill?" Todd asked. "Tell me."

"Do you want to have another child?" Blair said.

"I want a baby," Todd said. "Our baby."

"Another little rotten apple from the big rotten apple," Blair said, leaning against him and kissing his neck.

"I rely on you to balance that out," Todd said.

Blair laughed. "Right, seeing how stable my family is," she said. "You've got the nasties, and I've got nutcases." Todd smiled. "We're quite a pair," Blair added.

"The perfect pair," Todd said. He undid the tie on her robe and slid his warm, strong hands along her body and down to her belly. "The perfect brood," he said. He looked in her eyes. "Yes?"

"Why do you want another child?" Blair asked.

"I want as many as we can have," Todd said.

"Why, Todd?" Blair said.

He rubbed her belly. "Because of you," he said. "Because of us...and how it feels to be us." Todd looked in her eyes. "Because I love our children and being a father," he said, "and I want to be there from the very beginning."

Blair caressed his left cheek with the palm of her right hand. Todd closed his eyes. "You're not your father," she said. "You are your own man the way no one else in this town is." He smiled. "What?" she asked.

Todd opened his eyes. "I thought I was your man," he said.

Blair smiled. "Oh, you are," she said, moving closer against his firm body. "Every inch of you, every single cell," she said.

"From the peel to the core," Todd said. He pressed her against him.

"Ha, ha," Blair said.

"Are we having a baby?" Todd asked.

"Maybe, eventually," Blair said, stroking his hair.

"Now," Todd said.

Blair laughed. She studied his face for a moment, then she finally said, "I stopped the Pill yesterday." Todd slid his arms around her and embraced her more tenderly; Blair laid her head against his chest. "I love you, Todd," she said.

"I love you," he said.

Blair looked up at him. "Are you OK?" she asked.

"As much as I'll ever be," Todd said. "I want this, Blair. I want to be there every single moment."

"In the delivery room?" Blair asked.

"Yes," he said.

"Changing dirty diapers?"

"Yes."

"Getting up in the middle of the night?"

"I do that now," Todd said.

"Not to take care of a screaming child," Blair said.

"I'll do it," Todd said. "I'll do all of it."

"You'd better, Todd," Blair said.

"I will," he said. He smiled. "Let's go upstairs and play," he said.

"You don't think you did it the first time?" Blair asked. "You want another shot?"

Todd laughed. "As many as I can get," he said.

Blair got off him and retied her robe. Then she walked over to where the glass and bottle were and picked both up. In the kitchen she dumped what was left in the glass in the sink, then recapped the bottle and put it in a cabinet. Todd came up behind her and put his arms around her waist. He kissed her neck and slid his hands along her body. "Not here," Blair said, moving his hands away. Todd said, nothing, just grasped one of her hands in his and led her back to the stairs and up to the bedroom.


End file.
